Reviews by ralree:

S: Very fruity and tangy flowering Northwest hops make this a great smell. Sugary malt fills it in nicely.

T: Deep rich flavor, different from many IPAs. Hops are exceedingly strong, which is how I like them. Alcohol content is just right. A bit of dark fruit, some brown sugar, and chocolate are all mixing around in the flavor.

M: Very syrupy, rather creamy. Carbonation good, not too bubbly.

D: Goes down easily and smoothly. I will definitely try this one again.

More User Reviews:

Is this an old Bert Grant recipe or something?Poured into a standard pint glass a deep amber/brown with a large blooming two finger crown that stuck like glue to the glass and never fully settled.Pine resin and more pine resin in the nose,the citrus is there but takes a back seat to the pine resin,honestly thats all,I pick up no malt profile.Flavors remind me of old school Pacific northwest in the fact the hops in pine and citric form are the lead component and the caramel/bicuit malt is there to show its not 100% percent hops.This is a great beer, more of what an American DIPA should be than what many are,its old school in my mind.Paging MR. Grant....

Appearance - This is a light brown in color with some nice copper tones and a big head that comes up quick. It showed great retention and left tons of lacing on the inside of my glass.

Smell - The hop aroma is tight yet opens up nicely. I'd call them fruity but add that they show a lot of depth and aren't sweet if that makes any sense. There is some nice floral notes as well that are huge and actually form the backbone to the hop bouquet.

The malts are just as big as the hops. There's almost a winey port aroma to the malts but really they are filled with toffee galore. It's not the kind of toffee you get in a Heath bar but more like what you'd make on your stove top. I find some smaller notes of chocolate here as well but this has a nice, robust, malt structure that actually is probably the closest thing I've ever tasted to Arrogant Bastard.

Taste - The aromas meld nicely together at the taste. This is half hops and half malts and I mean split exactly down the middle. If I had to pick one I'd say the malt is just a shade stronger. It is so rich and heavy.

Mouthfeel - This is full-bodied with little bitterness and a flat yet pleasing texture that again reminds me of Arrogant Bastard.

Drinkability - This is a world-class beer that deserves the highest of accolades. It must be incredibly difficult to pull off this flavor combination but Victory did a tremendous job.

Strict hops confront the nose. Pine resins with a chocolate undertone. What I don't like about the aroma is a distinct bile-like essence. I think it's a blend of the hops and alcohol, and not that it's overbearingly rancid, but it doesn't work for me.

The taste is not unlike a Barleywine. Pretty straight forward piney hops with a hint of toffee and chocolate to work with. Has a potent Bigfoot-esque bitter kick late. The bile is toned down and the taste redeems the beer.

The body is kind of lazy, a little transparent, like it's just not trying very hard to have a mouthfeel.

Very flowery pungent aroma, almost lush like a greenhouse. Very hoppy Pours a medium dark brown with a thin white head that's gone quickly and doesn't leave much lacing. Very floral hoppiness up front. Some malt bitterness in the back. Lots of anise on the finish that becomes more pronounced the more you drink. Very nice palette, like a DFH 90. Great beer, I like this very much. Great cost/ABV ratio too.

Pours a rather dark amber to brown in color with a lively foam head of at least two fingers. Reasonably good retention that eventually dissipates to a ring, leaving good lacing most of the way down the glass.

Aromas are strong of earthy and piney hops, with some additional yeasty smells.

Strong caramel maltiness mixes with heavy earthy hops. Good balance of bold flavors; hard to say which one wins out. The finish goes a bit to the bitter side with a slight warming on the way down. A bold finish to match the bold flavors.

Carbonation makes the mouthfeel a bit lighter than you might expect but it works well overall. The brew goes down well and is generally pretty easy to drink. Nice.

Pours into my glass a deep blood red with a creamy, billowing two finger head of khaki foam that leaves sticky lacing as it slowly falls. Aromas of toasted malts with cocoa powder, caramel and a good, solid roast. Earthy, pungent grassy hops are in the mix and I get a good floral blast from it as well. Quite spicy overall.

First sip brings wonderful deep roasted malts with caramel and cocoa powder. Toasted flavors are kicked up by a charge of bold hops. Herbal, resinous with floral and grassy notes. Bitterness grabs hold as the brew flows down. Strikingly good balance of dark malts and bold hops.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. Steady carbonation throughout. Not overly heavy but viscous enough to grab hold of the palate. Overall, I find myself really enjoying this new Victory brew and it's a nice tribute to Yakima hops! Give this one a go if it's available to you. Thanks to kmpitz2 for the hand off of this one.

Interesting beer.Dark amber color, thick tan head. Very good retention, and a lot of lace.Very fragrant. Sweet malt, very mauch malty, in fact. Intensely floral.Upfront big malt taste, quickly followed by piney hops. The hop bitterness persisted.Nice balance. The 8.7% ABV is not at all noticeable, so be careful with this one.

Maybe it was my palate (though I doubt it), Maybe it was a dirty tap line, or maybe its because the restaurant i had it at told me it was a double IPA but christ I hated this beer...

When the beer was set down, I noticed it was a bit dark, but no darker than the DFH my buddy was drinking. Naturally I thought nothing of it... The smell was my first indicator that i didnt know what I was messing with. smell was stale and dry. Taste... also stale and dry. very dry. I handed it to my friend. He tried and also made a face of a baby being spoon fed gerber spinach... This is all I have to go on here but I vow to change my review if I somehow stumble upon one of these and it doesnt suck ass

Pours a deep, almost ruby reddish brown with 2.5 fingers of tan head with good retention. Leaves a nice amount of lacing behind.

Smell is sweet malts up front with a very faint citrus and pine hoppiness behind. Hops are much more present in the taste than the smell, followed by toffee malts. Finishes with a nice snap of hops. Overall, a nice flavor profile.

Mouthfeel is medium, with a nice stickiness from the hops. Finishes with a lingering bitterness.

This went down pretty smoothly, so I guess drinkability is pretty high for me. I'm not completely sold on the style, but this is one on the better black IPAs I've had.

A great head, this frothy, sticky brews looks like an imperial amber. The froth is milkshake-like, and as it slowly dissipates, thick lacing latches on to my glass sides. It looks brown and it looks strong, and the appearance leaves me hopeful....

The nose is less alluring, as hop and malt presence tussle for notice, but neither one seems to win. And, unfortunately, it's not like the balanced effect accomplishes aroma. There's a carbonated amber from malt and barley, and enough hops to have them just leave the surface. Though less optimistic, I'm still hopeful....

Rich and malty, I wanted more hops. It's got a picture of a hop on the bottle, for cyring-out-loud! I know it's not a DIPA, but there's a picture of a hop!! Isn't it?? It tastes like a regular strong ale, but a bit bland and new. At 8.7%, it's not really strong. With a one-year max freshness duration, it's blah. Shouldn't strong ales be ripe for cellaring? The carbonation is well-done (as I'd expect from Victory), but it's just a hop-influenced malt beer. Though I'll go with a relatively average rating, I must admit I'm disappointed. In fact, the feel is where I'll take it down a notch. Malt blahness, it's left begging for more hop influence. Kinda rich without significant backing, it feels like a miss. As for drinkability, I will not be seeking this one out again....

12 oz bottle. Pours a ruby brown with a monstrous creamy tan head that retains all the way down and laces the glass. I've had bottles of this that were almost gushers, there's so much carbonation.

The aroma is sweet caramel and toffee malts with some resinous piney hops and some grapefruit and a little astringent cocoa.

The flavor is a touch of sweet nutty caramel malts that quickly leads to a huge resinous tarry bitterness that has a little tangy fruitiness. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with fairly smooth carbonation.

12 ounce bottles, best before dating of Nov 16 2010, nice looking spacey, tripped out hop cone artwork on the label. Pours dark maple amber, darker khaki head, nice and puffy, leaving a lush thick film and plenty of splattered bits of sticky lacing. Fragrant, hopped up nose. Full flavor and aggressive brew, definitely reminds me of Arrogant Bastard, which is a real good thing. Luxurious mouth feel. Dangerously drinkable and tasty. Notes of waves of dark malts, rich hoppy assault to counterbalance. Thoroughly enjoyable quaffer. Are your pork tenderloins ready for their 2 day soaking? This will go into the regular rotation, another good sign.

Overall: OK for the style. I like this style a lot and this one is more hop forward and less roasty. I like a bit more balance as I generally like this style. Not a bad beer, but not one I would go for again given all the better alternatives in the style.